This proposal describes the third stage of the EC-funded part of the Graphene Flagship. It builds upon the results achieved in the ramp-up phase (2013 - 2016) and the first core project (2016 - 2018), and covers the period April 2018 - March 2020. The progress of the flagship follows the general plans set out in the Framework Partnership Agreement, and the second core project represents an additional step towards higher technology and manufacturing readiness levels. The Flagship is built upon the concept of value chains, one of which is along the axis of materials-components-systems; the ramp-up phase placed substantial resources on the development of materials production technologies, the first core project moved to emphasise components, and the second core project will move further towards integrating components in larger systems. This evolution is manifested, e.g., in the introduction of six market-motivated spearhead projects during the Core 2 project.

The Automotive HMI (Human Machine Interface) will soon undergo dramatic changes, with large plastic dashboards moving from the ‘push-buttons’ era to the ‘tactile’ era. User demand for aesthetically pleasing and seamless interfaces is ever increasing, with touch sensitive interfaces now commonplace. However, these touch interfaces come at the cost of haptic feedback, which raises concerns regarding the safety of eyeless interact ion during driving. The HAPPINESS project intends to address these concerns through technological solutions, introducing new capabilities for haptic feedback on these interfaces. The main goal of the HAPPINESS project is to develop a smart conformable surface able to offer different tactile sensations via the development of a Haptic Thin and Organic Large Area Electronic technology (TOLAE), integrating sensing and feedback capabilities, focusing on user requirements and ergonomic designs. To this aim, by gathering all the value chain actors (materials, technology manufacturing, OEM integrator) for application within the automotive market, the HAPPINESS project will offer a new haptic Human-Machine Interface technology, integrating touch sensing and disruptive feedback capabilities directly into an automotive dashboard. Based on the consortium skills, the HAPPINESS project will demonstrate the integration of Electro-Active Polymers (EAP) in a matrix of mechanical actuators on plastic foils. The objectives are to fabricate these actuators with large area and cost effective printing technologies and to integrate them through plastic molding injection into a small-scale dashboard prototype. We will design, implement and evaluate new approaches to Human-Computer Interaction on a fully functional prototype that combines in packaging both sensors and actuator foils, driven by custom electronics, and accessible to end-users via software libraries, allowing for the reproduction of common and accepted sensations such as Roughness, Vibration and Relief.

Car electronics is one of the most valuable source of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) in cars. What it sounds so strange is the lack of interest of car manufacturers (and the whole automotive sector in general) towards the recovery of these valuable components from End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs). Maybe, the complex set of barriers (e.g. regulatory, governance-based, market, technological, cultural, societal, gender, etc.) companies must cope with when implementing Circular Economy (CE) are making very difficult its adoption, by limiting potential benefits. All these data show as, even if car manufacturers are investing big capitals trying to shift their business towards more sustainable mobility concepts, the sectorial transition towards CE seems to be far from its completion. Especially at End-of-Life (EoL) phase, there are still many issues to be solved in order to functionally recover materials from cars (e.g. reuse recovered materials for the same purpose they were exploited originally) and the dependence from natural resources when producing new cars (even if electric/hybrid/fuel cell -powered) is still too high. This mandatory systemic transformation requires to all companies/sectors to redefine products lifecycles since the beginning, by considering CE already before to design them. To this aim, the TREASURE project wants to develop a scenario analysis simulation tool able to quantify positive and negative implications of CE, by leading the European automotive supply chain towards its full transition to CE.

The InSCOPE project will set-up an open access pilot line service for Hybrid TOLAE (H-TOLAE) technologies capable of sampling products at TRL6-7. It positions itself in between R&D and industry and deploys a service for validating potential H-TOLAE products. Manufacturing progresses beyond R&D level (TRL5 towards 6) by improving processes, functionality and reliability allowing sampling at high quality and in relevant numbers needed for industrial qualification (TRL 6-7). The applications addressed cover automotive, healthcare, smart packaging and buildings. After InSCOPE, the Pilot line service will remain accessible to interested parties. The pilot line is serviced by top European RTD’s with leading technological positions and state of the art equipment in the domain of H-TOLAE. InSCOPE will set up an open access pilot line infrastructure for H-TOLAE technology, which is modular ensuring a comprehensive toolbox of printing, assembly, production integration and process validation distributed over the partners. InSCOPE will ensure interoperability between the differing modules at the partners enabling end-users to combine different processes step from different partners in their process flow. It will accelerate the uptake of H-TOLAE technology by delivering a public handbook describing functionalities, production guidelines and design rules of H-TOLAE, including new opportunities for “traditional” electronics. Validation of the pilot line service by 4 Showcases and 15 development cases are included within the project. The Showcases consist of H-TOLAE product prototypes at TRL 5 to be matured on functionality and on manufacturability. The showcases will steer the pilot line improvement. They are selected based on their economic impact as well as the technological status of the product and production in Europe. The development cases are devoted to new functionalities enabled by H-TOLAE. They are aimed at SME’s interested in exploring the broad advantages H-TOLAE.

Design thinking has become crucial for high added-value product development, especially in the field of creative industries (automotive, art, fashion, luxury, sports…). More specifically, in the context of globalisation, consumers demand greater variety and customization in product offering such as higher aesthetics, functionalities,integrability, reconfigurability or sustainability. Advanced materials and manufacturing processes are key enabling technologies to answer these requirements. The PRESTIGE project aims at bringing together design-thinking innovation strategies with advanced printed functional materials developments (electroactive fluorinated polymers, photoactive materials, electroactive organic moeities, fluorinated relaxor terpolymers, tailor-made polymers for overmoulding and organo-mineral coating)and integration to demonstrate high-end interactive and aesthetics final products at TRL7 tackling tomorrow’s societal challenges. Five demonstrators will be developed and disseminated. Three business cases : (i) a haptic steering wheel for enhanced driving-experience (answering safe mobility challenge), (ii) energy harvesting and storage capacities for wearables (answering health, well-being and fashion challenges), (iii) e-plastic labels and oleophobic coatings for a more sustainable multi-use packaging (answering waste management: a major environmental challenge). Moreover, an artistic case (iv) to reach a wide audience of societal stakeholders and a design showcase (v) to increase awareness of designers about new materials. In PRESTIGE a consortium of 16 partners all along the value chain from designers, material and process scientists, material suppliers, manufacturers, systems integrators, end-users to artists and societal stakeholders has been set-up to stand as a unique European reference in the future fostering design-driven innovation in creative industries and beyond, by promoting their achievements through an SME-oriented cluster of excellence.